This discrimination goes beyond religion. Members of the LGBTQ communities face discrimination every day. While the Supreme Court found that same sex marriage is legal in all 50 states, 28 states still have their own laws allowing employers to fire someone solely because they are gay. In Iowa, a high school that fired a teacher in 2015 for being openly gay this year refused to recognize a gay student who was honored with a Gold Matthew Shepard Scholarship at their awards banquet. The student claims the school changed the awards banquet rules in order to avoid recognizing him and the award at the ceremony.

Transgender discrimination has been the focus of many states. It’s also been the subject of national conversation in recent months. North Carolina passed HB 2 in March which, in part, restricts the rights of transgender people to use the restroom facilities to that of their sex at birth. It also overturns LGBT nondiscrimination ordinances any municipalities in the state may have passed.

Discrimination still exists in this country and some forms are, unfortunately, still accepted and still legal. But there is progress. Ernie Davis, who died of leukemia in 1963, would be amazed to see how much change this country has been through over the last 60 years. That’s not to say that we don’t have a long way to go as a nation when it comes to protecting minorities, people of minority faiths, and those of the LGBTQ community from discrimination in their everyday lives.

For more than 30 years, the lawyers at Parks, Chesin & Walbert have been committed to representing clients in a wide array of litigation matters, including constitutional disputes, employment discrimination, civil rights, class actions, government contracting, and catastrophic injury cases.